Page:The Melanesians Studies in their Anthropology and Folklore.djvu/426

404 banyan. But Walolo was not on the tree, because he had gone across the sea and was still seeking for men to devour. And these two boys went up to the banyan-tree and began to pelt it with sticks thrown end over end; and while they were pelting so the snakes fell down in very great numbers. And Betawerai began to sing a song to make Walolo come quickly back and kill and eat them. And this was the song, ''Risurisu vano, Betawerai, a lang togalau, ti uvi goro nanagoku. Walolo! Walolo! go vano mai! Walolo! Walolo! go vano mai!'' Turn and come to Betawerai, the wind is North-west, it blows against my face. Walolo, Walolo, come hither! Walolo, Walolo, come hither! And they say that Walolo heard him singing, and thought that something had happened. And he came end over end like a stick, and as he came near he heard plainly that it was Betawerai’s voice, and he thought that indeed there was surely a man there. Therefore he came end over end in haste, and came near to those two; and one of them shot him, and then the other shot, and both hit him; and he tried to rush upon them, and one shot, and the other shot, and both hit. And they went on shooting like this, till they shot him to death. And they went after Betawerai, and pulled him down to the ground and killed him. And when they had killed the snakes in this way they heaped them up at the roots of the banyan-tree, and brought plenty of wood and burned them up, a great heap of snakes, as a sign that the devouring snake was destroyed. And they three (the boys and their mother) returned to their village and dwelt there.

She was a girl of Dama, and her mother, a snake, lived in a cave there. And there was a young man living at Tanoriki; and one day Basi and another girl, her sister I suppose, went down to the beach to dip salt-water; and Dovaowari was the name of the youth, and he also went down to bathe in the sea, but on another part of the beach. You know our ways, that